feeling festive

We have been trying to maximize our festivities since our Disney trip.  And it seems like we're doing pretty well with that.  Check it out.

The beauty of living in a small town, is the small town Christmas parade.  Nothing like Disneyland, but we had front row seats!

Ryan and his buddies Eli and Nolan, and their brothers 

Eddy was at work this day, so Cristen was a great stand in to help keep my kiddos in line  

the high school marching band 

I mean, what more do you need besides the Grinch driving a tractor? 

 And since Nanny & Dzia Dzia will be in Europe over Christmas celebrating with my brother, we did a little pre-Christmas gift exchange with them and then a walk in the rain.

new binoculars -- a great gift for a curious 6 year old!

putting those rain boots to work 

Kaitlyn had her last dance class of 2015, and it was PJ dance day, with their performance of a tap dance to Frosty the Snowman.  Stinking adorable.

her class, all in their PJs 

her best attempt at a curtsy/bow

and I guess she was so tired from it all, that she fell asleep at dinner -- literally, asleep, in this position -- her feet aren't even on the ground!!  That's what happens when you're 3 1/2 and you start going on nap strikes. 

 We had a play date with some friends, who taught my kids to do this on the swings...

And then went to see the local glass blowers at work.  The kids were interested for about 5 minutes.  While their mom Lindsay and I could've sat there for another hour watching them work!

Ry and his buddy Casen 

the little siblings -- K and Kian 

Per our holiday tradition, we took the train into the city on Saturday to check out the decorations and try to weave through all the people.  It was awesome.

Ryan didn't remember riding the cable car when Kaitlyn was just 5 months old, so we did it again.  Always a hoot.  

and we found the giant gingerbread house at the Fairmont hotel 

And then, we turned around, and sitting in the lobby next to the giant Christmas tree, was my dear friend from college Lindsey and her family.  Doing the same thing we were doing!  Love that this huge world really isn't so huge sometimes.

Lindsey and her girls Hadley and Ella, and me and the Bayer cubs